Frosh Blacks Few

Frosh Blacks few
by Stan Givens
A very old and very delicate
issue at Guilford College is
suddenly drawing increased attention. It is the general problem of low minority enrollment,
but specifically, low Black enrollment at this institution. The
subject of Black enrollment has
now been thrust to the fore as
many question the reasons behind the matriculation of only
six Blacks in this year's freshman class. Is this an anomaly or
the trend?
Jim Gripper, Dean of Minority Affairs, states "It is obvious
by the numbers that the commitment that once existed is left
lacking. This is equally exhibited by the number of Black
faculty and staff." Continuing,
he says the past commitment to
minority enrollment appears to
have been greater than the
present, when this year's class
of at least 14 or 15 graduating
Blacks, probably the largest in
the history of Guilford, is contrasted with this year's small
influx of Black freshmen.
Herb Poole, Special Assistant
to the President for Admissions
and Financial Aid and Director
of the Library, is at somewhat of
a loss for an explanation of the
regression that occurred in
Black admissions this year. His
only explanation is that possibly
"other institutions with more
popular names and more non-
need money" are attracting
more Black students than Guilford College. The College has
done nothing differently this
year than in recent years that
could account for such a large
decline in Black freshman enrollment, according to Poole.
He explained the source used to
locate the largest number of
It is obvious . . .
that the commitment
that once existed
is left lacking.'
-Jim Gripper
Blacks with grade point averages and SAT scores suitable
for Guilford is the Student
Search Service.
For probably the past 5 years,
Guilford has been contracting
through the Student Search Service for the names of certain
Black students who took the
SAT. The "Search," as it is
called, gives the names of Black
students living within a 16 state
territory with a high Black
population concentration who
have a B or better grade point
average and an SAT composite.
This year the Search yielded a
"target population" of about
2,000 Blacks who fell within the
parameters set. The target population was contacted by mail, a
few by telephone and some
even directly by Admissions
personnel. All of these efforts
netted Guilford six Black freshmen out of,2,000 contacted.
Ken Schwab, Dean of Students, does not feel the small
number of Black freshmen in
any way shows a divergance
from the "commitment of the
College to a diverse community." He also cites Guilford's
goal of at least 10% minority
enrollment. Apparently, Herb
Poole sees an increase in financial support for minority students, particularly in the form
of more non-need money, as
being a key to solving the
problem. He also believes there
is a need to find "a way that is
an improvement upon the traditional method used to identify
students to come to Guilford."
Gripper, Poole and Schwab
all agree there is a need for a
minority on the Admissions
Staff, possibly as a full-time
recruiter. Gripper cites Pella
Stokes, a former part-time recruiter, as an example of what a
Black recruiter can accomplish.
Finally, they agree on the need
to better utilize the "best
source of recruiters of Black
students," according to Gripper, Black Guilford students
themselves.

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Frosh Blacks few
by Stan Givens
A very old and very delicate
issue at Guilford College is
suddenly drawing increased attention. It is the general problem of low minority enrollment,
but specifically, low Black enrollment at this institution. The
subject of Black enrollment has
now been thrust to the fore as
many question the reasons behind the matriculation of only
six Blacks in this year's freshman class. Is this an anomaly or
the trend?
Jim Gripper, Dean of Minority Affairs, states "It is obvious
by the numbers that the commitment that once existed is left
lacking. This is equally exhibited by the number of Black
faculty and staff." Continuing,
he says the past commitment to
minority enrollment appears to
have been greater than the
present, when this year's class
of at least 14 or 15 graduating
Blacks, probably the largest in
the history of Guilford, is contrasted with this year's small
influx of Black freshmen.
Herb Poole, Special Assistant
to the President for Admissions
and Financial Aid and Director
of the Library, is at somewhat of
a loss for an explanation of the
regression that occurred in
Black admissions this year. His
only explanation is that possibly
"other institutions with more
popular names and more non-
need money" are attracting
more Black students than Guilford College. The College has
done nothing differently this
year than in recent years that
could account for such a large
decline in Black freshman enrollment, according to Poole.
He explained the source used to
locate the largest number of
It is obvious . . .
that the commitment
that once existed
is left lacking.'
-Jim Gripper
Blacks with grade point averages and SAT scores suitable
for Guilford is the Student
Search Service.
For probably the past 5 years,
Guilford has been contracting
through the Student Search Service for the names of certain
Black students who took the
SAT. The "Search," as it is
called, gives the names of Black
students living within a 16 state
territory with a high Black
population concentration who
have a B or better grade point
average and an SAT composite.
This year the Search yielded a
"target population" of about
2,000 Blacks who fell within the
parameters set. The target population was contacted by mail, a
few by telephone and some
even directly by Admissions
personnel. All of these efforts
netted Guilford six Black freshmen out of,2,000 contacted.
Ken Schwab, Dean of Students, does not feel the small
number of Black freshmen in
any way shows a divergance
from the "commitment of the
College to a diverse community." He also cites Guilford's
goal of at least 10% minority
enrollment. Apparently, Herb
Poole sees an increase in financial support for minority students, particularly in the form
of more non-need money, as
being a key to solving the
problem. He also believes there
is a need to find "a way that is
an improvement upon the traditional method used to identify
students to come to Guilford."
Gripper, Poole and Schwab
all agree there is a need for a
minority on the Admissions
Staff, possibly as a full-time
recruiter. Gripper cites Pella
Stokes, a former part-time recruiter, as an example of what a
Black recruiter can accomplish.
Finally, they agree on the need
to better utilize the "best
source of recruiters of Black
students," according to Gripper, Black Guilford students
themselves.